The Dutch Supreme Court has ruled that the state is liable for the deaths of three Bosnian Muslim men that were massacred in Srebrenica in 1995.

The men were working for Dutch peacekeeping forces and were sheltering in a UN compound, when it was overrun by Bosnian Serbs and the Dutch ordered them to leave.

The Dutch had said that the men were under the protection of the UN but relatives of the men argued that the Dutch were responsible for the men.

Read more here.

MPs in Kenya have voted for a motion withdrawing from the ICC during an emergency debate.

Opposition MPs boycotted the vote, but a bill will be introduced within the next month.

Current Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto ahve been charged by the ICC with crimes against humanity, committed during post-election violence in 2007.

The opposition alliance, Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord), led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, walked out of the debate, saying the motion was "capricious" and "ill-considered".

A withdrawal would not bring "honour to the nation and dignity to our leaders", Cord said in a statement.

"Kenya cannot exist outside the realm of international law," Kenya's opposition said.

ICC spokesperson Fadi el-Abdallah told the BBC that Kenya's withdrawal would not affect the cases of the politicians.

"A withdrawal has an effect only for the future and never for the past," he said.

Amnesty International criticised the motion and said it was the latest in a series of "disturbing initiatives to undermine the work of the ICC in Kenya and across the continent".

"Amnesty International calls on each and every parliamentarian to stand against impunity and reject this proposal," said Netsanet Belay, Amnesty’s Africa programme director, in a statement.

“These cases must proceed and the government has a legal obligation to cooperate fully. Put simply, there is no legal way that the government can evade the justice process in these cases.”

Rebels from the Democratic Republic of Congo M23 movement indicated today, that they were prepared to resume peace talks with the Congolese government.

The talks, which stalled in May, resulted in a special United nations force being launched against the rebels last month. The rebels , last week declared a unilateral ceasefire, following a week of heavy fighting.

The M23 leader, Bertrand Bisimwa, told the AFP,

“Our delegates are already in Kampala. They are ready to negotiate with Kinshasa immediately as soon as the request has been passed onto them by the mediator.”

Russian president Vladimir Putin has said that Russia could support UN-approved military action if proof was presented that it was the Assad regime that used chemical weapons in an attack last month.

He told Associated Press that such evidence would have to be “deep and specific” and “prove beyond doubt who did it and what means were used”.

Russia has now suspended the delivery of missule parts to the Assad regime, but said it could resume if the West attack Syrian targets without UN Security Council authorisation.

“We have supplied separate components, but the whole delivery is not finalised; we have suspended it for now,” Putin said.

“But if we see steps being undertaken that would violate existing international norms, we will think how to move forward, including on deliveries of such sensitive weapons.”

A senior Palestinian official has given a damning assessment of peace talks with Israel, calling the current round of negotiations pointless.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a top aide to President Mahmoud Abbas, told Voice of Palestine radio:

"These negotiations are futile and won't lead to any results,"

"I don't expect any progress at all unless there is huge and powerful American pressure, such as the one we are seeing from America to deal with the Syrian issue,"

"Israel did not commit to stopping settlements and we see the continuation of the settlement policy as destroying any possible chance of (a deal),"

See Reuters for full report.

The Kenyan parliament is expected to hold a session to debate ending the country’s membership of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Kenya, Joyce Laboso, released an order for “special sitting of the assembly”  with parliament to vote on whether the nation will continue with its membership of the ICC.

Commenting on the potential withdrawal of Kenya from the ICC, the ICC spokesman, Fadi al-Abdallah, said,

“Withdrawing from the Rome Statute has no impact on cases already open, it does not affect investigations, proceedings of trials which have already started”

The existing cases lodged against Kenyatta and Ruto would therefore stand unaffected in the event of Kenya’s withdrawal.

The justice ministry of the southern German state of Baden-Württemberg has said it may pursue 30 former guards of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

49 guards had been investigated by the judiciary, of which 30 should be prosecuted, officials said.

The justice agency in the state said it would hand over details of the ex-guards to prosecutors in the relevant German states.

Thousands of Rwandans, who have been living in Tanzania for most if not all their lives have been forcefully evicted from their homes.

Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete ordered the expulsion of “illegal immigrants” from Rwanda, in, what is seen as, a reaction to the heightening diplomatic tensions between Rwanda and Tanzania, over involvement in the Congolese conflict.

Many of the evictees, who are now living in camps, deem themselves unfairly targeted by the Tanzanian government.

A former Nazi officer has been charged with murdering a Dutch resistance fighter in September 1944.

92-year old Siert Bruins, an officer of the Schutzstaffel (SS), is accused of shooting Aldert Klaas Dijkema after he was captured near Groningen.

The prosecutor at the court in Dortmund said that the defendant’s age should not prevent justice being served.

Bruins was born Dutch, but was given German citizenship after Adolf Hitler conferred German citizenship on all foreigners working for the Nazis. He was previously convicted of the murder of two Jews and sentenced to 7 years in 1980.

The intelligence in the summary details alleged proof of the use of chemical weapons, notably Sarin gas, by the Syrian regime and also concluded that opposition forces would not have had the capacity to carry out such large scale chemical attacks.

See here for the full document (in French).

See the New York Times for a summary in English.

Cambodian staff at a Khmer Rouge war crimes tribunal have gone on strike  amidst of a funding crisis.

Over 250 people have not been paid since June at the UN backed court, as a standoff between donors and the government takes place due to a lack of governmental support, which has resulted in an annual budget shortfall of $3 million.

The court spokesman confirmed that a 100 people had gone on strike and would not return until they received pay.

Deposed Egyptian president Mohammed Mursi will be put on trial, at the command of the country’s new army-backed authorities, facing charges of inciting murder and violence.

The state news agency reported that Mursi along with 14 other members of the Muslim Brotherhood were charged with "committing acts of violence, and inciting killing and thuggery".

The new government also appointed a new constituent assembly, giving it 60 days to review amendments to the constitution that would erase Islamic articles brought in by the Brotherhood.

See Reuters for full report.

The leaders of three opposition parties in Congo have outlined their intentions of boycotting upcoming talks that are aimed at national reconciliation.

The neutrality of the talks, organised by Congolese President Joseph Kabila, have been questioned by the opposition parties, due to the controversial circumstances that Kabila won his presidency in.

Opposition Parties have called for a neutral facilitator to be appointed before constructive talks for the nation can begin.

Burmese authorities announced the opening of border crossings with Thailand, in a historic move to boost tourism.

Tourists, upon successfully applying for a visa, will be able to enter Burma through the border of Thailand or three international airports.

Government officials also indicated that the border gates between China and Burma would eventually be opened after the conflicts in the Kachin states were resolved.